With the first public consultation period for Alto wrapped up, many property owners are still left wondering if and when Canada’s proposed high-speed rail network might displace them.
Alto recently announced that the first stretch of the network, from Ottawa to Montreal, could cross about 1,700 properties, including at least 500 agricultural lands. Though the final route is still in the works, those with properties within a 10 kilometre range of the rail boundary may be asked to vacate.
“People are very frustrated and fearful, and they don’t know what to do,” says Kathleen O’Connell Renaud, a committee member on AltoNO. “Should they start planning for another life? Should they start getting appraisals for their properties? Nobody’s advising them.”
The 1,000-kilometre rail is set to connect Toronto to Quebec City by 2044, with additional stops in Peterborough, Laval, and Trois-Rivières, and is expected to run the federal government between $60 to $90 billion.
Last month, some property owners within the possible Ottawa to Montreal corridor started receiving “request to access” notices from Alto. The letters outline a number of potential activities from the organization, including soil and vegetation sampling and drone filming. Renaud says that some organizing groups are already connecting with expropriation lawyers ahead of this fall’s finalized route to explore their options.
Alto is focusing on following existing roads, railways, power lines, and property boundaries to limit the impact on surrounding communities and environment. “Crossing solutions—like bridges, underpasses, overpasses or even elevated tracks—will be developed in collaboration with local authorities,” says a spokesperson for Alto.
That said, expropriation may be necessary in some cases.
How will expropriation work?
A key concern is tied to the federal government’s Bill C-15, which includes the High Speed Rail Network Act. Under the bill, the government will have no obligation to negotiate amicable purchases agreements before acquiring land. It also abolishes public hearings for those seeking to contest expropriation in person and gives Alto a right of first refusal if a property they’re interested in goes up for sale.
Once the route is decided, expropriations will begin “almost immediately,” said transportation minister Steven MacKinnon back in February.
On their website, Alto laid out its step-by-step strategy for expropriation. The organization says formal letters will be sent out in the fall, whereafter Alto will work “individually” with owners on the proposed terms of purchase and timelines.
As set out by Bill C-15, owners will have 30 days to contest the notice by submitting a written objection to the Minister of Transportation—but critics are worried they won’t have an effect.
“This is not just about homes, this is livelihoods,” says Renaud.
Public consultations were simply “vapourware”
The first of two public consultations periods concluded on April 24 after three months of open houses, virtual sessions and roundtables across Ontario and Quebec. The consultations saw an engagement of more than 10,000 people, according to Alto.
Alto is set to release a report on the consultations in June, though organizations such as AltNO are unconvinced that the Crown organization is taking public feedback seriously. Renaud says that the open houses themselves and a perceived lack of transparency is making it difficult for property owners to have trust in Alto.
“The whole business case for the train does not exist, the engineering plans do not exist, even the route doesn’t exist,” says Renaud. “Really, it is vapourware.”
While construction on the Ottawa to Toronto portion of the rail isn’t expected to begin until 2030, organizations west of Ottawa are keeping a close eye on the situation in anticipation of their turn.
A February open house in South Frontenac alone—which sits within one of two proposed alignment areas in Ontario—saw about 700 attendees, according to Save South Frontenac (SSF) co-committee lead Katie Koopman.
“[Alto is] looking to expropriate across the corridor, not just between Ottawa and Montreal,” says Koopman. “When the timing is right, they’re going to throw a shovel in the ground here ASAP.”
A second round of public consultations are set to take place this fall.
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